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In 2019, almost 240 000 persons were employed as firefighters in 22 EU member states with available data, representing 0.1% of total EU employment, according to data released today by Eurostat, the statistical service of the EU, on the occasion of the International Firefighters’ Day celebrated every year on 4 May.
Among these EU member states, Estonia, Cyprus and Latvia recorded the highest shares of firefighters in their workforces (all 0.4 % of total employment).
In 2018, the 27 EU member states’ government expenditure on fire-protection services amounted to €29.5 billion. This expenditure is equivalent to 0.5% of total government expenditure, which is less than the amount spent on police services (expenditure equivalent to 1.9% of total expenditure in 2018).
Overall, in the EU, public expenditure on fire-protection services remained stable at around 0.4 – 0.5% of total expenditure since the beginning of the time series in 2001.
In 2018, the ratio of government fire-protection expenditure to total expenditure varied across EU Member States from 0.1% of total expenditure in Denmark, 0.2% in Malta and 0.3% in Ireland, Austria, Portugal and Slovenia, to 0.7% in Czechia and Lithuania, 0.8% in Romania and 0.9% in Bulgaria. In Cyprus this rate is 0.4% and in Greece 0.6%.
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